Dr. Henry Louis Gates To Receive Spingarn Award At 2024 NAACP Meeting, Las Vegas

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

Expect to see many high-profile Blacks including MSNBC President Rashida Jones, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Steven Horsford, and journalist Jemele Hill at the annual NAACP convention, which will be held July 11-17 in Las Vegas.

This year’s theme is ‘All In.’ NAACP officers said it reaffirms the NAACP’s commitment to using the Black community’s collective ingenuity, creativity, and strength to continue the fight for civil rights and social justice.

“For 115 years, the NAACP has been all in on Black America – this year is no different,” NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson said in a recent statement on the organization’s website.

“We look forward to welcoming, connecting with and celebrating some of our nation’s most distinguished members of the Black community to uplift and advance Black prosperity, Black culture, and Black equity,” Johnson said.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to attend the annual convention. Both have participated in every convention during the Administration’s tenure, the NAACP noted.

“Las Vegas is the cradle of people power movements and is a blueprint for how to create long-lasting and meaningful change in our communities,” said Quentin Savwoir, NAACP Las Vegas Branch president.

“As the host Branch, we’re diligently and intentionally curating an experience that will bridge the national program to the local community,” he said. “We’ll host a series of activations for convention-goers that center civic engagement, entrepreneurship and economic freedom.”

Participants will participate in panel discussions on Black culture, business, (DE&I), the upcoming elections, race, and justice. All events aim to address key issues facing the Black community and society at large.

Dr. Henry Louis Gates, a Harvard professor, will receive the NAACP’s annual Spingarn Award. Gates grew up in West Virginia. His father, Henry Louis Gates Sr., worked in a paper mill and moonlighted as a janitor. His mother, Pauline Coleman Gates, cleaned houses. Gates finished Yale in 1973 and earned his doctoral degree at Yale in 1979. Gates has hosted the popular PBS series, Finding Your Roots, since 2012.